the nearby Ardilaun hotel would be ideal.
I hadn’t anticipated being so nervous. After all, this was not a guy I expected to fancy – although I knew I couldn’t be sure of that until I’d met him. Arriving into the
hotel bar ten minutes late, I did a quick scan of the room. I immediately thought he must not have shown up, and was oddly comforted by that thought. A man and woman in their thirties sat at one of
the low tables. Several men sat in the extreme right corner drinking beer, their bodies tense with excitement as they watched a replay of the day’s rugby match. Then I spotted an elderly man
dressed in a crumpled jacket worn over a grey round-neck sweatshirt. He nodded in my direction as he descended from a bar stool. I turned around to see if there was someone behind me whom he had
recognised… then froze as it dawned on me that this stooped grey-haired man could be “Wordsmith” . But he had named salsa dancing and Tai Chi as his hobbies! And his photo
had projected such a vibrant, youthful image!
“Hey, Kate. How are you?” He extended his hand to me, while bending to kiss me on the right cheek. A whiff of something musty immediately assailed my nostrils. I glanced distractedly
at the bar, wondering if it had been wiped with a dirty dishcloth. God, after spending so many years living with Trevor, had I become as cantankerous as him?
“I’m good. Sorry for being late. I hope you weren’t waiting long?”
“No. Just enough time to get a gin and tonic.” He led me in the direction of the bar where his glass stood almost empty, and I climbed on to the stool beside him. “What would
you like to drink?”
“A glass of water, please.”
“Oh, come on. That’s not a drink. You should be celebrating your freedom. You’re free of your husband now, Kate. It’s the start of your new, exciting life.”
“All right then, one gin and tonic. After that, just water.”
Alan turned out to be pleasant to chat with and quite forthcoming about his own experience of marriage breakdown, having been divorced ten years with three grown-up boys. But when I looked at
his grey face with its loose jowls, wide nose and bulging eyes, I was reminded of a toad. He looked considerably older than his photograph and he soon confessed to having lied online about his age
– he was fifty-two, not forty-five, and looked even older than that. Despite my initial eagerness to meet any man who could possibly fancy me, it had turned out to be quite different in
reality. On most profiles, the men talked about the need for chemistry. I’d had loads of chemistry with Trevor – before Martha, at any rate – so I’d begun to wonder if it
was that important after all. Now looking at this guy, I figured out that when chemistry was lacking, I’d have more fun playing bingo with OAPs.
Alan regaled me with his dating stories. “Lots of women are just online purely for sex. Seriously! I’ve had loads of women contact me asking to meet up. Some of them married women.
Once I tell them my job brings me round the country, the offers come flying in.”
I studiously sipped my drink in an effort to hide my face, which had surely turned pink from embarrassment. Recovering myself, I pitched a bold question and made direct eye contact. I was not
going to let him intimidate me. “And do they say they’re only interested in sex?”
“Oh, yeah. Definitely.” He briefly touched my knee. “And some of the women have told me about strange men they met on the sites. You need to be careful, Kate. An attractive
woman like you. There are a lot of very weird people out there. It’s not so easy to meet someone right.”
“I can well imagine. I don’t really know what I’m doing online, to be quite honest with you – I’m still traumatised by my marriage ending. I probably wouldn’t
be able to form a relationship just yet.”
“Well, don’t rule it out because you can never predict when you’ll meet the right person. Life
I hadn’t anticipated being so nervous. After all, this was not a guy I expected to fancy – although I knew I couldn’t be sure of that until I’d met him. Arriving into the
hotel bar ten minutes late, I did a quick scan of the room. I immediately thought he must not have shown up, and was oddly comforted by that thought. A man and woman in their thirties sat at one of
the low tables. Several men sat in the extreme right corner drinking beer, their bodies tense with excitement as they watched a replay of the day’s rugby match. Then I spotted an elderly man
dressed in a crumpled jacket worn over a grey round-neck sweatshirt. He nodded in my direction as he descended from a bar stool. I turned around to see if there was someone behind me whom he had
recognised… then froze as it dawned on me that this stooped grey-haired man could be “Wordsmith” . But he had named salsa dancing and Tai Chi as his hobbies! And his photo
had projected such a vibrant, youthful image!
“Hey, Kate. How are you?” He extended his hand to me, while bending to kiss me on the right cheek. A whiff of something musty immediately assailed my nostrils. I glanced distractedly
at the bar, wondering if it had been wiped with a dirty dishcloth. God, after spending so many years living with Trevor, had I become as cantankerous as him?
“I’m good. Sorry for being late. I hope you weren’t waiting long?”
“No. Just enough time to get a gin and tonic.” He led me in the direction of the bar where his glass stood almost empty, and I climbed on to the stool beside him. “What would
you like to drink?”
“A glass of water, please.”
“Oh, come on. That’s not a drink. You should be celebrating your freedom. You’re free of your husband now, Kate. It’s the start of your new, exciting life.”
“All right then, one gin and tonic. After that, just water.”
Alan turned out to be pleasant to chat with and quite forthcoming about his own experience of marriage breakdown, having been divorced ten years with three grown-up boys. But when I looked at
his grey face with its loose jowls, wide nose and bulging eyes, I was reminded of a toad. He looked considerably older than his photograph and he soon confessed to having lied online about his age
– he was fifty-two, not forty-five, and looked even older than that. Despite my initial eagerness to meet any man who could possibly fancy me, it had turned out to be quite different in
reality. On most profiles, the men talked about the need for chemistry. I’d had loads of chemistry with Trevor – before Martha, at any rate – so I’d begun to wonder if it
was that important after all. Now looking at this guy, I figured out that when chemistry was lacking, I’d have more fun playing bingo with OAPs.
Alan regaled me with his dating stories. “Lots of women are just online purely for sex. Seriously! I’ve had loads of women contact me asking to meet up. Some of them married women.
Once I tell them my job brings me round the country, the offers come flying in.”
I studiously sipped my drink in an effort to hide my face, which had surely turned pink from embarrassment. Recovering myself, I pitched a bold question and made direct eye contact. I was not
going to let him intimidate me. “And do they say they’re only interested in sex?”
“Oh, yeah. Definitely.” He briefly touched my knee. “And some of the women have told me about strange men they met on the sites. You need to be careful, Kate. An attractive
woman like you. There are a lot of very weird people out there. It’s not so easy to meet someone right.”
“I can well imagine. I don’t really know what I’m doing online, to be quite honest with you – I’m still traumatised by my marriage ending. I probably wouldn’t
be able to form a relationship just yet.”
“Well, don’t rule it out because you can never predict when you’ll meet the right person. Life
Similar Books
